Course Assignments

Below you will find the descriptions and rubrics for all the assignments for the course.

Reflections

In order to get familiar with the professional literature and the landscape of the field, each student will complete five personal reflections on an aspect of a particular journal, blog, or other information resource related to school library practice and/or research. Each reflection should focus on a different resource in order to give each student exposure to the variety of available resources.

Vision and Mission Statement

Each student will develop a vision and mission statement for a high quality school library media program. You may choose to write general statements you can carry with you into practice or you may choose to write statement for a specific program, real or imagined.

Issues in School Library Management Presentation

Students will each develop some expertise within a key area or topic of school library media management and share that expertise in a session for the class. The presentation will be 20 minutes and an accompanying research-based resource about the issue will be prepared.
Issue Presentation Sign-Up List

Assessment of the School Library Program

Students will work in a group to create a presentation of no more than fifteen minutes that assesses a district’s school library program using Linking for Learning. Your group will represent librarians from schools in your district and make the presentation as if the audience is the school board, district administrators, and community members. Use whatever tools you deem necessary to make your presentation.

Collection Development Proposal

Build or enhance a section of a school library collection. While working under the constraints of a budget to build this collection, students will evaluate and select materials to best meet student and teacher needs. Students will use a range of professional resources to help design the proposed collection and be able to articulate what sources were used as well as explain how the proposed collection materials will meet the need of the targeted users.
Draft of Collection Development Proposal Example

Action Plan

Each student will create EITHER a written report (aim for about 1200-1500 words in length) OR a multi-media object that details an action plan for a school library that has been inspired by a need you discovered through talking with a librarian.
These questions might help structure your conversation with a librarian for the assignment:


Portfolio

The Illinois State Board of Education requires a professional portfolio for prospective educators. Students will begin to fulfill the portfolio requirement in LIS773 in preparation for the exit interview from the SLMP program. The LIS773 portfolio will contain aspects from your work completed in the course. This portfolio should be constructed electronically using a web platform.
Platforms for Portfolios:
Weebly - http://www.weebly.com/
Weebly Help Guides - http://help.weebly.com/
Google Sites - https://sites.google.com
Wikispaces - http://wikispaces.com
Sample portfolios from previous LIS773 courses - check out the Resources page on this wiki for links